Shoreham-Wading River cheerleading team 'hits zero' to win Suffolk Class C title
Shoreham-Wading River celebrate after winning the Suffolk Class C cheerleading championship at Sachem East on Saturday. Credit: David Meisenholder
For the first time all season, the Shoreham-Wading River cheerleading team “hit zero.”
In a sport that stresses 2 minutes and 30 seconds of perfection, receiving no deduction points is a difficult feat.
At the county championship, where the cost of a mistake can prevent you from continuing your season at the next level, the Wildcats needed to be perfect.
Shoreham-Wading River chanted and posed its way to a score of 92.1, finishing ahead of six-time state champion Mount Sinai by 0.85 points to earn the Suffolk Class C title on Saturday at Sachem East.
“I’m not surprised that they got their first ‘hit zero’ today,” Shoreham-Wading River coach Brie Carlen said. “They’ve worked so hard for this, and I knew today would be the day.”
The Wildcats’ final routine, which included high-to-high stretches, was changed weekly throughout the season due to injuries or illnesses within the squad.
“I think overcoming the many obstacles we faced throughout the season with our routine made us stronger in the end,” senior main base Jocelynn Besold said.
Sachem East top of Class A
Sachem East cheerleaders celebrate after winning the Suffolk Class A cheerleading championship at Sachem East on Saturday. Credit: David Meisenholder
For the Sachem East cheerleading team, it was all about perfecting its craft.
After the squad won its first state title last March, Sachem East curated and perfected its most difficult routine to edge Connetquot by two points and clinch its second consecutive county title with a score of 93.85.
“We’ve been focusing more at practices and have been talking about what we could do better,” sophomore side base Cameron Buckstein said. “It made a tremendous difference because we all had faith in each other going out there to hit our stunts.”
Ward Melville: Coed champs
Defending state champion Ward Melville also earned its second straight Suffolk title with a score of 91.90 in the coed division, narrowly defeating Whitman (90.10).
“We made a lot of adjustments in the beginning because we added so many people to the team this year,” senior main base Emma Clontz said. “It helped us gain trust in each other and the process and we just went all-in.”
Eagles fly to title
Rocky Point used all the energy in the packed gym to close out the event and earn the class B title with a score of 92.60.
“There was some amazing energy in here today and we fed off it,” senior side base Reese Rogers said.
West Babylon, which won last season’s competition over Rocky Point by one-tenth of a point, placed third with a score of 89.10 behind Smithtown West (90.60).
“We were really hungry coming in after losing by 0.1 last year,” Rocky Point senior back spot Caiden Palank said. “It was a redemption season for us, so we wanted to push ourselves as much as we could to prove ourselves.”
Royals represent Class D
Port Jefferson earned the class D title with a score of 70.15. The 12-member squad, the lone team in its class, reveled in the chance to represent its school and county in Binghamton next month. The five cheer squads mentioned above will represent Suffolk at the state championship on March 8 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.
“This year being in class D is difficult because we’re such a small team,” senior flyer Nina Mercante said. “But it was a really great experience to have ourselves as our competition and now have the chance to show what we worked so hard for at states.”
